Letter and carte-de-visite of Jacob Wainwright, created during his brief stay in England during 1874.
Wainwright was one of a party of over 50 African people with Livingstone in the months before his death at Chipundu, Zambia. The letter describes the explorer's death and the party's 'dangerous and toilsome journey' to carry his remains to the coast.
A young, formerly enslaved Yao man, Wainwright had been selected for the party while at a Church Missionary Society school near Mumbai, India. At the school, he had been given the name Jacob Wainwright, and received an education in English.
Wainwright's language skills were a key reason he was selected to accompany Livingstone's coffin to England, subsequently attending the funeral as a pall bearer.
The letter contributes to what is known about this part of Livingstone's story, as well giving a glimpse of Wainwright's own experience. It is notable as a rare surviving written account of the involvement of an African person in European exploration in the 19th century.
[Library reference: Acc.12444]
